Players Union Releases 2013 Salary Info

Federico Higuain is the league's 11th-highest paid player, according to salary information released by the MLS players' association.

The team's designated player has a guaranteed compensation of $604,000 after being paid $324,000 while playing the final 13 games of the 2012 season for the Crew.

Federico Higuain is the league’s 11th-highest paid player, according to salary information released by the MLS players’ association.

The team’s designated player has a guaranteed compensation of $604,000 after being paid $324,000 while playing the final 13 games of the 2012 season for the Crew.

Other notes on the 2013 roster numbers:

-Matias Sanchez has been an interesting case since signing with the Crew. Pegged as an up-and-coming player with all kinds of upside, he is yet to crack the starting lineup and appears to be sliding down the depth chart. When he arrived in Columbus, the Crew coaches wanted to see him work out before signing him, and it was less than two days later that his signing was announced.

The coaches have publicly downplayed high expectations for Sanchez, but his salary indicates otherwise. Sanchez’s guaranteed compensation for 2013 is $230,000 – fourth-highest on the team and ahead of co-returning scoring leaders Jairo Arrieta ($225,375) and Eddie Gaven ($195,000). Neither Arrieta nor Gaven received raises.

-After Higuain, Chad Marshall has the second-highest salary of $361,250. That marks a $20,000 raise for the defender. Both he and Gaven renegotiated new deals before the 2012 season, with Gaven taking a pay cut to stay with the club while Marshall’s salary increased.

Offseason signing Gláuber, who teams with Marshall in the Crew central defense, is third-most at $363,333.33.

-The Crew drafted Ryan Finley with its first-round SuperDraft pick, and the forward had already signed a contract with the league. His salary is $74,000. The team’s first-round pick from one year earlier, midfielder/forward Ethan Finlay, is making $62,300 after bringing in $59,000 as a rookie. He had not already signed with MLS.

-The Crew signed Wil Trapp and Chad Barson to homegrown player contracts in the offseason, giving them five such players on the roster. Trapp has the highest salary of the five at $127,000, followed by Aaron Horton ($80,500, a $10,000 raise), Ben Speas ($62,000), Chad Barson ($46,500) and Matt Lampson ($46,500, a $2,500 raise).

-After parting ways with a number of players from last year’s roster, the Crew resigned Tony Tchani and Danny O’Rourke in the offseason. Tchani took a $79,000 pay cut and will make $130,000 this season after his Generation Adidas status expired. O’Rourke, meanwhile, will make $175,000 this season after making $145,600 in 2012.

-Goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum enjoyed a standout first season as a starter in 2012 when William Hesmer was paid $181,000 in his final season. This year, Gruenebaum earned a $15,220 raise and will make $93,886.67.

-As a whole, the Crew’s 2013 guaranteed compensation is $3,888,876.34, which marks an increase of $171,867.34 from last season.

Here is a list of who is paid what, from top to bottom. Figures are 2013 guaranteed compensation.